MANILA: The Philippine National Police (PNP) said its deployment of over 15,000 police officers was not meant to intimidate rally participants of the second Trillion Peso March this Sunday (Nov 30).
The PNP previously said it was deploying police officers to the expected protest sites at the People Power Monument as well as the areas surrounding Malacañang, the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, and other key locations in Metro Manila.
“The deployment is not about intimidation; it’s about readiness. We expect [a] large number of crowds in multiple activity areas, so our personnel on the ground should be quick in responding to emergencies and even any violation of the law,” acting PNP chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said in a statement on Friday (Nov 28).
“Let me be clear that law enforcement presence does not mean aggressive action. The order for maximum tolerance still remains,” he added.
The PNP previously said only the organisers of the Trillion Peso March have secured a permit for the mass action at White Plains Avenue near the People Power Monument from 6am to 6pm Sunday.
The PNP also said it expects a crowd of around 300,000 at the protest, but it is unclear how the PNP arrived at this estimate.
In the statement, Nartatez further said the PNP is monitoring for “possible infiltration attempts by groups seeking to cause unrest, similar to what happened during the Sept 21 rally in Manila.”
“There are always these kinds of considerations in mass gatherings. Our intelligence monitoring is focused on potential agitators. Rest assured, we are coordinating closely with other agencies to prevent any attempt to hijack the peaceful intent of the rally,” Nartatez explained.
The violence during the Sept. 21 rally prompted police to arrest over 200 individuals, including two minors. Two people also reportedly died during the ensuing violence.
Human rights groups condemned the police for supposedly failing to exercise maximum tolerance.
Nartatez previously vowed “maximum tolerance” for “peaceful” demonstrators and “zero tolerance” for violence.
Both iterations of the Trillion Peso March are among a series of protest actions stemming from allegations of corruption in flood control and other infrastructure projects. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
